Owen Jones

“If sharp-elbowed parents are no longer able to buy themselves out of state education, they are incentivised to improve their local schools.”

“When those with wealth and power fear that their privilege is even mildly challenged, they invariably clothe themselves in the garbs of victimhood.”

“The bereaved are often treated badly. There is no statutory paid bereavement leave, with the emotionally stunned often compelled to work within days of losing a loved one.”

“Socialism is the democratisation of every level of society, or it is nothing. It is based on an understanding that the concentration of wealth and power leaves democracy hollowed out, and that simply trooping to a polling station every few years is an insufficient counterweight to the behemoths of global capital.”

“It is easier to diagnose a crisis than to cure it, of course.”

“Labour's mission is to democratise Britain: but first, it must surely democratise itself.”

“University should foster imagination and creativity, enriching society in the process.”

“A party committed to defending the economic interests of rich elites could never win by saying so.”

“Private schools do confer other advantages, of course: whether it be networks, or a sense of confidence that can shade into a poisonous sense of social superiority.”

“Although economic grievances were critical in delivering the referendum result, Brexit has fomented an all-out culture war.”

“From a genuine living wage to a mass housebuilding programme and strong workers' and trade unions rights preventing a race to the bottom, our answers to the grievances that help drive anti-immigrant sentiment must be front and centre.”

“In a society rigged in favour of landlords over tenants, to rent privately is to be deprived of security.”

“Being on the left is supposed to be about unbounded optimism, a belief that what is deemed politically impossible by the 'sensible grownups' of politics can be realised, with sufficient imagination and determination.”

“Austerity is literally a matter of life and death. Unless it is stopped, lives will continue to be unnecessarily shortened.”

“Modern capitalism is based on a myth: that thriving private entrepreneurs generate wealth through their own hard work, innovation and get-up-and-go.”

“Almost all human beings have the capacity for empathy. Everyone has the potential to be at least troubled, or feel genuine anguish, about the suffering of other human beings.”

“Britain's police force is institutionally racist. This was the judgement of the 1999 Macpherson report, and it remains the case.”

“In the neoliberal era, rolling back the state has in practice meant withdrawing state support and social security for the majority, but continuing vast subsidies for vested interests.”

“Loneliness is devastating our mental and physical health and, at its worst, is killing us. Yet thankfully, unlike some conditions, we can easily cure it. We just need the will.”

“Jobs have become more precarious and staff turnover has increased while union membership has plummeted, weakening workplace solidarity.”